The present invention relates to a power connector for transferring power to electrical devices in a rack, stand, or cabinet.
Computer systems and components are sometimes housed together in a rack or cabinet, or on a stand or support (hereinafter Arack@). Power for the computer system is often provided from a power source such as a wall outlet to the components by a plug strip. In some applications, however, the plug strip is replaced with an uninterruptible power source (AUPS@). An advantage of the UPS is that it prevents the loss or corruption of data due to an unanticipated hard power-down. The UPS or plug strip has a power cord that is fixedly attached thereto. One problem associated with the power cord is that, if the rack is moved beyond the reach of the cord while the cord is plugged into the power source, the cord will be strained and may break if it does not release from the power source.
The rack is sometimes advantageously formed of metal. However, the fact that the metal is conductive to electricity poses a potential safety hazard, if the components or environment should expose the housing to voltage sources.
It is also desirable to reduce electromagnetic interference (AEMI@) produced by the components and to protect the components from electrostatic discharge (AESD@). However, the housing does not typically provide these functions.
Therefore, there is a need for a novel power connector that solves the aforementioned problems and provides the aforementioned features.
Within the scope of the invention, a power connector is disclosed for use with a rack for supporting one or more computer system components. The disclosed power connector includes a housing having a connecting member mounted thereto, a power input, and a power output. The power input and power output have respective ground leads electrically connected to the connecting member for creating an electrically conductive path from the connecting member to ground. The housing includes a mounting plate for mounting the power connector to the rack. Preferably, the mounting plate has an uninsulated, conductive surface area for making contact with a corresponding uninsulated, conductive surface area on the rack.
The power output is formed of a power receptacle adapted to detachably receive the plug of a power cord from one or more of the components. Preferably, the power input is also formed of such a power receptacle, to permit an input power cord to be detached from the power connector.